Michael Howard QC (born 7 July 1941) is a British Conservative politician, an MP since the 1983 General Election for the constituency of Folkestone and Hythe and was Leader of the Opposition between 2003 and 2005.
The Rt Hon Michael Howard MP | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 6 November 2003 – 6 December 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Iain Duncan Smith |
| Succeeded by | David Cameron |
| Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
| In office 18 September 2001 – 6 November 2003 | |
| Leader | Iain Duncan Smith |
| Preceded by | Michael Portillo |
| Succeeded by | Oliver Letwin |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | |
| In office 12 June 1997 – 2 December 1998 | |
| Leader | William Hague |
| Preceded by | Robin Cook |
| Succeeded by | John Maples |
| Home Secretary | |
| In office 27 May 1993 – 2 May 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Kenneth Clarke |
| Succeeded by | Jack Straw |
| Secretary of State for Environment | |
| In office 11 April 1992 – 27 May 1993 | |
| Prime Minister | John Major |
| Preceded by | Michael Heseltine |
| Succeeded by | John Gummer |
| Secretary of State for Employment | |
| In office 3 January 1990 – 11 April 1992 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher John Major |
| Preceded by | Norman Fowler |
| Succeeded by | Gillian Shephard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 7, 1941 Gorseinon, Wales |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Profession | Barrister |
Early Life
Howard was born in Gorseinon, Wales, the son of immigrant Romanian Jewish shopkeeper Bernard Hecht [1]. His mother, Hilda Kershion, was Welsh-born and of Eastern European Jewish ancestry. When Howard was six, the family name Hecht was anglicised to Howard [2]. He attended Llanelli Grammar School and Peterhouse, Cambridge and was President of the Cambridge Union Society in 1962. After taking a 2:1 in the first part of the Economics tripos, he switched to Law and graduated with a 2:2 in 1962. Howard was one of a cluster of bright Conservative students at Cambridge around this time, sometimes referred to as the Cambridge Mafia, many of whom went on to hold high government office under Margaret Thatcher and John Major. (See Cambridge University Conservative Association)
Howard was called to the Bar (Inner Temple) in 1964 and specialised in employment and planning law. The late 1960s saw his promotion within the Bow Group where he became Chairman in 1970. At the Conservative Party conference of 1970, he made a notable speech commending the government for attempting to curb trade union power.
Member of Parliament
Howard found it difficult to find and be selected for a winnable parliamentary seat[citation needed] and so continued his career at the Bar where he would become a Queen's Counsel in 1982. In June of that year Howard was selected for the constituency of Folkestone and Hythe in succession of the retiring Sir Albert Costain. He won his seat in the general election of 1983 without difficulty. Howard previously fought and lost the safe Labour seat of Liverpool Edge Hill, in 1964.
Howard married model Sandra Paul in 1975; their son Nicholas was born in 1976 and daughter Larissa in 1978.
In government
Howard became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Trade and Industry. After the 1987 election he became Minister for Local Government. On behalf of the Government, he accepted the amendment which would become Section 28, and defended its inclusion.
Howard then guided through the House of Commons the Local Government Finance Act 1988. This act brought in Margaret Thatcher's new system of local taxation, officially known as the Community Charge but almost universally nicknamed the poll tax. After a period as Minister for Water and Planning in 1988/89 during which he was responsible for implementing water privatization in England and Wales, Howard was promoted to the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Employment in March 1990. Howard subsequently guided through legislation abolishing the closed shop. Howard retained his cabinet post under John Major and campaigned against trade-union power during the 1992 general election campaign.
His work in the campaign led to his appointment as Secretary of State for the Environment in the reshuffle after the 1992 election. In this capacity he encouraged the United States to participate in the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. He was appointed Home Secretary in the May 1993 reshuffle.
His tenure as Home Secretary was especially notable for his tough approach to crime, which he summed up as "prison works".
First attempt to become Leader of the Conservative Party
After the 1997 resignation of John Major, Howard and William Hague announced they would be running on the same ticket, with Howard as leader and Hague as Deputy Leader and Party Chairman. However, the day after they agreed this, Hague decided to run on his own.
Howard came in fifth with the support of only twenty-three MPs in the first leadership ballot. He then withdrew from the race and endorsed the eventual winner William Hague. Howard served as Shadow Foreign Secretary for the next two years but retired from the Shadow Cabinet in 1999, remaining an MP.
Leader of the Oppostition
After the 2001 General Election Howard was recalled to frontline politics when the Conservatives' new leader Iain Duncan Smith appointed him Shadow Chancellor. After Duncan Smith was removed from the leadership, Howard was elected unopposed as leader of the party in November 2003. His performances against Tony Blair at the despatch box were seen as more effective than those of his predecessors as leader.
2005 General Election
Howard gained a majority of 11,680 in his Folkestone and Hythe constituency but the Conservatives lost the election to the Labour Party.
Cash for Peerages
On 23 October 2006, Michael Howard revealed that he had voluntarily been questioned as a potential witness concerning the Cash for Peerages investigation surrounding fundraising and the 2005 election campaign. He is not suspected of any criminal activity.[1]
Resignation
Despite announcing after the 2005 General Election that he would vacate the role of party leader, Howard performed a substantial reshuffle of the party's front bench on the 10th May in which several rising star MPs were given their first shadow portfolios, including George Osborne and David Cameron. This move cleared the way for David Cameron (who had worked for Howard as Policy Advisor when the latter was Home Secretary) to run for the Conservative Party leadership.
The reforms to the party's election process took a number of months and Howard held power as leader for six months of the new parliament. During that period, he enjoyed a fairly pressure-free time, often making joking comparisons between himself and Tony Blair, both of whom had declared they would not stand at the next General Election. He also oversaw Blair's first parliamentary defeat, when the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrats and sufficient Labour Party rebels voted against government proposals to extend to 90 days the period that terror suspects could be held for without charge. Howard stood down as leader in December of 2005 and was replaced by David Cameron.
Retirement
Howard announced on 17th March 2006 that he will be standing down as MP for Folkestone and Hythe at the next election, expected to be held in 2009 or 2010 [3]. On February 22nd 2007, Howard became an Honorary Patron of the University Philosophical Society.
See also
References
External links
- Michael Howard MP official site
- Conservative Party: Michael Howard official profile of the Party Leader
- ePolitix.com - Michael Howard profile
- They Work For You: Michael Howard MP
- The Public Whip - Michael Howard MP voting record
- Open Directory Project - Michael Howard directory category